Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chain guide element, in particular for a CVT transmission of a motor vehicle.
Description of the Related Art
Chain guide elements are known in CVT transmissions according to the prior art to guide the chain and damp strand vibrations of the chain.
For example, DE100 17 005 A1 discloses a continuously adjustable, chain-driven conical-pulley transmission as a CVT transmission in which a chain guide element is made as a receiving rail. The chain guide element includes an upper and a lower rail, which are connected to each other by means of at least one lateral arm as a spacer, while the chain runs between the two rails in the longitudinal direction of the rails.
The chain guide element is located within the transmission between two conical disk pairs, and is situated so that it can be pivotable and linearly movable by means of a combined pivoting and translatory support, so that the chain guide is able to adapt to the particular course of the chain when the transmission ratio of the transmission is changed by changing the running radii of the chain in the conical disk pairs. At the same time, the chain guide has a receptacle that opens downward, below the lower rail, which can be placed on a guide tube or bolt that is positioned parallel to the axes of the conical disk pairs and between them. Downward in this connection means directed toward the center plane which runs through the axes of the two conical disk pairs.
If the chain changes from one extreme position to the other extreme position, the chain guide element describes a motion which consists of a combination of a rotational motion around the guide tube and a linear motion. This leads to disadvantages, which are also caused in particular by the fact that a guide tube crossing the construction space or a bolt is used to support the chain guide element. The use of the construction space by the receptacle located below the rails means that the construction space for the rails and the connecting element is limited, which results in these components having to be of relatively narrow design, which has a negative effect on their rigidity. This also has negative effects on the damping of strand vibrations of the first and second orders, and on the fabrication.
An object of the present invention is to create a chain guide element by means of which improved vibration damping of a chain strand is achievable, and which is nevertheless simply and economically constructed.